nelson



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISRAEL P. NELSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSAGHUSETTSJASSIGNOR TO ISRAEL P.NELSON AND GEO. N. DAVIS.

EIREIVIANS MASK .AND RESPIRATOR.

Specification of Letters :Patent No. 16,863, dated March 17, 1857.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ISRAEL P. NELSON, of Cambridge, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and ImprovedFiremans Mask and Respirator, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a sectionthrough the mask, Fig. 2 representing the manner in which it is appliedto the person.

The attempts which have been made to protect firemen from the injuriouseffects of smoke and heated air upon the lungs, by causing the air whichthey breathe to pass through moist sponge for the purpose of ltering andcooling it, have been but parj tially successful.

My present improvement has for its object the accomplishment of the sameend and is based upon the fact that in apartments lilled with smoke toan extent that would render it impossible to breathe at the height of amans head above the floor, there is nearly in every instance a draft ofcool pure air immediately upon the Hoor, and a few inches above it. Totake advantage of this circumstance, I have adapted a tight litting maskto the face of the person, from which depend the air tubes through whichhe breathes, the extremities of the tubes reaching to within an inch ortwo of the floor as will now be more fully explained.

In Fig. l, A is a section through the mask which conforms generally tothe face of the individual, and is made of a sheet of preparedindiarubber; at B, the mask is contractedl by an elastic band of the same, bymeans of which it is caused to cling to the head, and all entrance ofair or smoke at this point is prevented. The tubes C, are united to themask immediately beneath the nose, and at this point there is an openinga, between the tubes, and the interior of the mask, through which air isadmitted for respiration. Immediately in front of the mouth there is anopening f, which is covered upon the outside by the flexible valve d.This opening is placed directly in front of the mouth so that expirationmay readily take place through it, while no air can be admitted at thispoint from the outside, as the valve d, is of flexible india rubber andeffectually closes the opening when the air is exhausted upon the insideof the mask. tubes O, reach to very near the floor, and are passed overthe shoulders and secured to the body and legs by straps g, as seen inFig. 2. It will be seen that a person thus equipped, on entering anapartment filled with smoke, may inspire through the tubes O, taking theair from the lowest stratum in the room, and expire through the openingat the mouth. By removing the lower portion of the tubes at the joint 71the mask may be used to protect the face from severe wind and cold, andwill be of great service to pilots, stage-drivers and others whoseoccupations require them to be exposed to great degrees of cold, and tothe beatings of storms in the face which often materially interfere withtheir capability of performing their duties. Heretofore I have spoken ofindia rubber as the material of which to manufacture the mask and tubes,as this I have found to answer the, purpose. It is evident however thatany other suitable material such as oiled silk, leather, &c., may beused for the purpose without altering the principle of my invention.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The within described mask with its tubes O, and valve (Z, operating inthe manner substantially as herein set forth.

ISRAEL P. NELSON. Witnesses Tiros. R. RoAoH, P. E. TESGHEMACHER.

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